photo and story by Desiree M. Cooper
Communication Services
"The faculty is awesome, kind, caring and appreciative." – Crystal Jones
Crystal Jones, who attended Eastern New Mexico University in 1999, returned last September to become the administrative secretary of the nursing department and finish her bachelor's degree in psychology.
Mrs. Jones assists nursing students in registering for courses and helps faculty with anything they need.
She was actively involved in the accreditation process of the BSN Completion Program in Nursing last week and plans to do the same next spring for the MSN program. She enjoys being able to put her organizational and planning skills into action for such an important task.
"The faculty is awesome, kind, caring and appreciative of everything I do," said the student, who originally attended ENMU to pursue a double major in psychology and criminal justice.
"It is crazy how people's brains work; I find it interesting," she explained, "I wanted to work in probation and parole or be an FBI agent."
Since then she has worked for 10 years in the business field so is looking at different avenues.
The administrative assistant is thinking of pursuing an additional bachelor's in business or counseling or a master's in psychology. She is currently taking a math class and plans on taking two courses next semester.
"I love that I'm back in school. I'd like to take more courses, but I've got to balance work, family and school," she said.
Her favorite course was Dr. Scott Johnson's "Abnormal Psychology" because of his "lectures about the disorders people deal with. His speech on PTSD gave me chills."
Besides her work study position for the psychology department when she initially attended ENMU, this is Mrs. Jones' first time working in academia.
She previously managed 25 employees at a metal storage building company in Alabama, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico and kept the books from the home office in Clovis.
Mrs. Jones took a summer off when she moved back to Portales to spend time with her four children, Hayley, Jaidyn, Darian, and Annika, and her husband, Quinton.
"I enjoyed taking the summer off and loved being with my family," said the Indiana-native, who moved to New Mexico in December 1998.
Her hobbies include camping with her family at Conchas Lake and supporting her children with their activities.
Hayley, 19, will graduate from Melrose High School in May and plans to go into the Radiologic Technology program at Clovis Community College. She participates in 4-H and Future Farmers of America. Jaidyn, 16, attends Clovis Christian School.
Darian, 9, is a "passionate" baseball player and Annika, 8, participates in soccer and wants to try volleyball. They are in elementary school in Portales.
"I remember when I first married my husband that my goal was to own our own home, finish college and take my kids on vacation," she explained. "Ten years later, we own a home, I'm back in school and we've started filling a 5-gallon water jug with change to save up for a family trip to Disney World."
